11-Year-Old Runaway Leads CHP On 100 mph I-5 Chase

A wild chase on the Interstate 5 on Friday, July 25 led Fort Tejon’s California Highway Patrol officers into hot pursuit of an unlikely driver. Witnesses reported a very short white male, appearing to be about eight years old, at the wheel of a gray Mercury Sable. He was standing up to reach the pedals and careening down the highway at speeds up to 100 miles per hour. At 5:11 p.m. CHP officers were alerted to a reckless driver southbound on SR 99. An attempt to stop him led him to accelerate to over 100 mph, onto Interstate 5. Fort Tejon CHP took up the pursuit up the Grapevine. The driver had several near-miss collisions, “using the center divider and right shoulder trying to get away,” officers report.

Finally, the vehicle came to a stop at SR 138. The juvenile— who was found to be 11 years old—was four feet, three inches and 65 pounds of unhappy lad eager to run away from home. The car belonged to his parents. He was booked into Kern County Juvenile Hall, reportedly on suspicion of felony evading and for being an unlicensed driver, according to Ft. Tejon’s Mark Ehly. His identity has not been released.

—By Patric Hedlund

This is part of the August 01, 2008 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.